


Talking Things Out

by Neutral03



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Dead Wally West, Drinking, F/F, F/M, Gen, Kind of Fluffly buy not really., M/M, Sad Artemis Crock, Sad Dick Grayson, They finally talk things out, talking it out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24561946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neutral03/pseuds/Neutral03
Summary: Artemis meets Dick at a shady bar in Gotham. They drink, recall all of the good times, discuss something that were kept secret, and just plain out ignored. They finally talk things out after the invasion.
Relationships: Artemis Crock/Zatanna Zatara, Dick Grayson/Wally West, Unrequited Dick Grayson/Wally West, past Artemis Crock/Wally West - Relationship
Kudos: 37





	Talking Things Out

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the conversation that Young Justice never gave us. I didn't see Season 3, but I found that clip on Youtube where Dick hallucinates Wally during a Mission and it gave me the idea for this. It's kind of sad, but well I kind of can't help that part. I own nothing, but the plot, everything else goes to it's original owners. Hope you enjoy and have a nice day!   
> -N.

It was a cold and windy night in one of the more shadier parts of Gotham. Though that basically every night in the crime and grime filled city. The only people that ever have the ability to love it, are the ones who are born and raised there. And even then only about half of them come to love it. But for the most part everything seemed amplified tonight for some reason. At least that’s what Artemis Crock though as she stepped out of the Zeta-Tube and walked out from the alley and onto the streets. It had been a good couple of months since she had stepped foot in the city. The last time was when she came over to check on her mom after she had called when her apartment had flooded. That was a huge mess that she didn’t really want to bring up. With all of the drama that came with the metahuman trafficking and her own personal life, she really hasn’t had a spare minute to breathe. Not that she didn’t love where she currently was in her life, she did, she really did. But there was just something that she needed to get off of her chest. After a visit with Zantana to see Doctor Fate for help, she got a new view on her life. Now she realizes that she needs to let go of all of her old demons. If Fate taught her anything from that little episode, then it was that she had to let go and move on to stop all of the memories of her past from haunting her for the rest of her life. She learned that to do that she needed to let go of Wally. 

Which was part of the reason that she was in Gotham tonight. For her to really be able to let go of her biggest demon, and let me tell you she had a lot of them so that was saying something, she first has to make amends with a certain someone. And that is how she found herself walking into a local dive bar in the middle of Gotham’s roughest part. The place was called “Sully’s”, it had been around since the late 80’s, or at least that was what the sign said, but she’s learned never to trust those things when it came to things like these. She can remember her mother telling her stories about how her father used to take her there back when they were still together on dates. That’s how she knew it was the perfect place to have this little get together in. She just really hopes that it goes well, for everyone’s sake. 

Stealing herself in preparation, Artemis walked across the street and into the bar. It was fairly easy to get into, there was no bouncer, or security and no one bothered to even try to ID her. Inside she took a seat by herself at the end of the bar near the back of the establishment and ordered herself a beer. The bartender was quick with her order and then just left her alone. And for that she was very grateful, she needed some time to gather her thoughts and get her crap together if she was going to be able to do this. She was alone by herself for about 15 minutes or so before she heard him approach her. When she heard the jingle of the bell about the door, signaling that someone had entered the establishment, she turned her head to the boise. She was hoping that she could catch a look at him to see how she was supposed to start this out. And there he stood at the front of the bar. Before her was Dick Grayson, in a pair of dark washed jeans and an old Gotham Knights' hoodie that she’s known he’s had since high school. He’s one of those people that doesn't stop using something until it dies. He looked um, well not good, but he didn’t look that bad either in her opinion. She could tell that much by how deep the bags underneath his eyes were. And it was probably a safe bet to make that he hasn’t slept properly in days. And his hair was a complete mess, though she didn’t know if that part was deliberate or not, but she wasn’t going to ask him that either. When they made eye contact finally, she flagged him down, so that he could sit next to her at the bar. 

Somehow Dick was able to weave himself through the crowd to where Artemis was sitting at the bar. And it was times like these that reminded her of just how young Dick was. He was only 21! He was barely legal enough to drink in this country. He should be out having fun and dealing with the stress of college life. Not spending his youth dealing with a bunch of wayward metahumans and alien invasions, and human trafficking that was happening left and right, back to back. The poor kid couldn't catch a break. She smiled at him as he came to sit down next to her. He ordered himself a drink before turning to her. “Hey Arty.” He greeted her. “Hey Dick, how’ve you been man?” She asked him. Dick shrugged at her. “I’ve been okay, you?” He asked her instead, without answering the question really. Right then and there she knew that something wasn’t right with that picture. The Dick Grayson that she knew was a wiseass, has been ever since she met him when he was 13, and he hasn’t changed that much in that department over the years. He always has some sort of joke or sarcastic comment reay to say for any given situation. He loved messing with people and always had a mischievous look in his eyes, even if he wasn’t planning on pulling a prank on you. Though talking to him now he’s completely different. His tone is more somber than ever before. The look in his eyes are gone and his smiles don’t reach his eyes anymore. It’s like she’s talking to a complete stranger now. 

“Hey,” Dick greeted her as he came to sit down beside her once he placed his drink order. “Why, hello there stranger, long time no see.” Artemis retorted back at him in greeting. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to be able to sense the tension and awkwardness that had settled between the two of them. 4 beers and about 20 minutes later they still haven’t said a single word to each other than a simple hello. The tension between the two of them was so obvious that all of the bar patrons were staring at them. It was very noticeable to Artemis and she didn’t like it one bit. All of the attention that people were giving them were driving her crazy. She had set this whole meeting up so that she could reach out and talk to him. And she was determined to do that, she just had to work up the nerve for it first. Before talking though, Artemis took another deep breath and another big swig of her drink before talking. “So,” Artemis said. Dick turned his head to look at her, making a ‘hmm’ noise. At least he was paying attention to her. She didn’t say anything else for a couple of minutes just drinking her beer. “So,” She tried again, but ended up chickening out once again. Dick started to chuckle to himself at her inability to start the conversation. Even though she was having trouble talking to her younger friend, she had absolutely no problem slapping him on the shoulder, hard. Dick winced at the impact of the slap, but only continued to laugh it off instead, and just grinned at her. When she looked over he had a small smile on his face. It didn’t quite reach his eyes like they used to, but it made Artemis realize how long it’s been since she’s seen him smile in general. 

“So, I take it since you took the trouble of calling me out here that you wanted to talk about something important?” Dick said. Artemis just shrugged her shoulders at him in response. That action made Dick roll her eyes at him. “So what if I did.” Artemis mused. “Would you be willing to listen?” She asked him. “You think too little of me Arty.” Dick told her. “Of course I’ll listen to you, you’re my friend, and I’m here for you.” Dick told her. On the inside, Artemis was a jumbled mess or nerves and other anxieties, she didn’t think that it would be this easy to talk to him, she really didn’t. But on the outside she remained as cool as a cucumber. She didn’t want to spook Dick off if he caught her acting off, she had to bid her time and work with the cards that he’s dealing her if she wants this to not become a train wreck. 

“I called you here to talk to you.” Artemis told him. She turned her attention away from him so that she could fully explain what they were doing here, and why she wanted to talk. She knew that she would never be able to accomplish that if she had to look the younger man in the eye. “I,.. I know that things, these past couple of years haven’t been the exact best for you.” She told him. “What with, losing Jason, almost having the same thing happen to both Bruce and Babs, and what happened with… Wally..” She trailed off. Artemis knew that this would be hard for Dick to hear, but she didn’t realize how hard it would be for her to have to explain all of this to him. She loved Wally, she really did. He was her first actual kiss, her first boyfriend, first time, first lover. She really did believe in her juvenile, teenage mind that Wally was her endgame. She was his spitfire and he was her endgame, or he was supposed to be. But things didn’t quite exactly go out as planned. And looking back there were signs that things weren’t as they seemed that she didn’t see, or more likely than not chose to ignore. She was 15 when she met Wally and the two of them got together, and she did what any teenager ‘in love’ did. She ignored everything and anything that was related to them not being together when they’re both 80 and senile. And by doing so, she now realizes that there were people that could have been hurt by her actions. And she needed to apologize for that, hence why Dick was here. 

It took her a few moments to be able to gather herself to continue this conversation. Dick didn’t comment on anything, he just rubbed her back and was like a silent comfort to her which she really appreciated. “The point that I’m trying to make here is..” Artemis told him. “I know.” She said. And whether it was her word choice, or the conviction in her voice and the way that she conveyed her emotions she didn’t know. But she knew that she hit the jackpot when Dick stopped rubbing her back. She turned her head to look at the younger and saw the look of shock on his face. It took a few minutes before he was able to compose himself and talk to her. “I,.. I don’t..” Dick said softly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He told him. Artemis laughed to herself softly, she knew that Dick would react like this, it was a typical Bat tactic, deny everything until someone brings you the evidence that shows them that they were the ones with their hand in the cookie jar. Artemis was an archer, and while she was no detective, she wasn’t a fool either. “I know Dick.” She told him. “I talked to Z.” That got the acrobat to shut his trap pretty fast. Another thing that people didn’t know about Artemis was her recent acquisition of a love-life, and that said love-life was with a woman. Her and Will tried to make a go of it, but that was just too weird for either of them. And then after her little run-in with Fate, her and Z started getting closer with one another. They had always been close, since their old days in the Team, and they still remained close when they went their separate ways, though they weren’t as close as then. But they started texting, and talking, and going out for lunch, brunch, dinner, drinks, breakfast, and a little bit more than that. Needless to say that this was the happiest that she had been in a while. 

Dick didn’t say anything to her for a while, he just kept his head down and stared at his half-full drink, and ran his hands over the bar. When he did finally decide to speak to her, she jumped a little bit at the sound of his voice. In all of the time that she’s known the younger man, she’s never heard him sound like that. “How long have you known?” He asked her. And if he wasn’t sitting right beside her to where she can look over and know that it’s Dick, she wouldn't be able to recognize him by the sound of his voice alone. “A couple of months.” She admitted. “Zatanna and I have… oh, how do I put this?” She asked herself. “God, I’m starting to sound like Me’ggan.” She laughed, Dick just looked like he was going to full on puke. “We’re,.. Dating now I guess?” She said. “If that makes any sense to you at all.” She didn’t stop talking long enough to gage the other’s reaction and continued on talking. “Well, one night while we were on a date we started talking about the old times.” Artemis told him. “And don’t get mad at Z, we had been drinking and things just sort of got out of hand.” The archer told him. “Anyway, we started talking about Wally, and you and the old days, and all of that good stuff.” She paused for a minute and took a deep breath before she started to talk again. 

“After a couple of drinks we started to talk about Wally.” Artemis told him. “I was telling her about us, and all of the stupid stuff that he used to do and still did just to annoy before and after we got together.” She said. “At times Wally might have been an idiot, but he was a good man and an excellent human being.” “Yeah, he was..” Dick agreed softly. Artemis turned her head to look at him softly. “Yeah, and we started talking about all of the anniversaries and holidays that he forgot, then tried to come up with this giant hair brained scheme to make it look like he had some sort of elaborate plan going on this whole entire time.” Artemis told him. “Z, was just nodding along and chiming in from time to time when she said it.” “What did she say?” Dick asked her, and this is the scaredest that she’s seen the man in a long, long time. “She said that, ‘Huh,.. Well, no wonder Dick’s been in love with him since he was a kid.’” Dick looked like he was 2 seconds away from puking his guts up, and Artemis was about ready to offer him some help when he got up and headed to the bathroom. Well, great, that’s not what she had intended this conversation to go. 

Sighing to herself after a few minutes of Dick being gone, she paid for the tab, plus a nice tip if she does say so herself, and left to hunt down her friend down. It didn’t even phase her to walk right into the men’s room. No one here even bothered to pay her any attention. Though in this part of Gotham, it probably isn’t anything new for them in this establishment. Walking inside, she didn’t see anyone else in the room but her, and hopefully Dick. She walked around and checked underneath the stall doors, and she was finally able to find Dick. He was in the handicapped stall at the very end of the row. Artemis recognized his shoes that she could see sticking out from where he was sitting on the bathroom floor. She couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary so she was hoping that nothing was wrong. She knocked on the stall door, and hoped for the best. “Dick..?” She called. “Are you in there?” He didn’t say anything to her at first, but Artemis knew that he was in there and he knew that Artemis knew that he was in there. Very confusing statement she knows, but it is how it is. After what felt like forever, Dick finally answered her. “What?” He asked softly. “Nothing, just checking in on you.” Artemis told him. “You never came back, I got worried.” Dick didn’t say anything after that. Artemis was really hoping that he was going to be cooperative with her than this. But, it’s going as bad as she thought that it would get, yet. 

Just when Artemis was about to give up after calling for Dick repeatedly and just sick Babs on him, the stall door trudge opened. She was shocked to see Dick sitting on the dirty bathroom floor,crying and staring up at her with bloodshot eyes, and tears streaming down his face. “Oh Dick..” She said softly as she crouched on the floor next to the younger man. “Come here.” She said as she opened her arms and the other leaned in for a hug. The two of them just sat there together, just the two of them with no one else in the room. Artemis held him as he cried and cried, she did the best that she could to try and calm the man down, but she felt like she wasn’t doing anything to help him really in the long run. She shifted in surprise when Dick shifted and moved out from her grasp. He just looked at her and Artemis could see the tears pouring down his face in a waterfall pattern. “I love him.” Dick said. “I love him, I loved him, and I still love him.” He told her as he began to cry again. “It broke my heart when he came and told me that he was going to ask you out all of those years ago.” Dick confessed to her. “But I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to ruin things for you guys.” He said. “I’ve never told anyone but Bruce that I was in love with Wally.” Dick told her. “I have no idea how Z found out, though it doesn’t surprise me that she was able to figure it out.” 

“ I had kind of already figured that out when I told Wally yes,” Artemis said. Dick looked at her as she continued talking. “I saw the way that you looked at him and the way that you acted around him.” She told him. “I knew it, and yet I squashed your happiness because of my own selfishness.” She told him. “I’m sorry Dick.” Artemis apologized. Dick shook his head at her. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for Arty,” Dick told her. “Regardless of whether Wally said anything to you about being in love I probably wouldn’t have told him.” Dick told her. “I was so scared that he’d hate me if he ever found out, and I’m glad that he had you when he went.” Dick told her. And now it was Artemis’s turn to start crying. And the two of them spent the next two hours crying into each other’s arms. Things were still far from being okay, but at least they had a starting point now. And it’s all thanks to them talking it all out. 


End file.
